For Dwayne Carter, AKA Lil Wayne, trouble with the law appears to be an ongoing issue
as he persistently gets caught with items that well, just aren’t legal. His 2007 arrest stemmed
from a .40 caliber pistol found on his tour bus, and in 2008 Wayne was arrested when ecstasy,
an illegal narcotic with euphoric effects and a tendency to cause serious brain damage, was
found…guess where…? On his tour bus!

According to Arizona statute, an individual who is convicted of knowingly possessing or using an illegal narcotic is thereby guilty of a Class 4 felony, a crime which can carry a sentence of up to three years in prison.

Interestingly enough, however, Lil’ Wayne is already in a New York jail due to that
pesky aforementioned gun charge. In accordance with New York Statute, an individual whocarries a firearm without a license is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon, a felony which can carry a maximum sentence of three and a half years behind bars. Lil’ Wayne initially pleaded not guilty to this charge and later accepted a plea agreement offered by the prosecution. Wayne was given a one year sentence after he agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree which is also a felony and an offense which can carry a prison sentence of up to two and a half years.

So, Wayne is serving his time for the New York incident, but Arizona hasn’t forgotten about him,
and it looks like the best way for him to avoid serving another prison term will be to negotiate yet
another plea bargain. Should the Arizona courts decide to go easy on Lil’ Wayne and agree to
a plea bargain, reducing his sentence to 36 months of probation, Wayne will escape any additional
jail time; however, his future incarceration or lack thereof remains to be seen.

So, if we have the story straight, Lil’ Wayne can’t seem to keep guns and drugs out of
his tour bus. The law assumes that if you possess items like narcotics and firearms, you just
might use them. Shocker. But one question we might ask is: should possession alone qualify
an individual for the same charges as use? What if Lil Wayne was just “holding” the drugs for
someone? Furthermore, Lil’ Wayne might have believed that his gun charge was an isolated
event, that he wouldn’t get caught keeping illegal stuff on his tour bus again. Would that explain
why he didn’t appear to be more careful about what he was keeping on his tour bus when he
was arrested the second time?

Since he WAS caught a second time, should the Arizona justice system agree to a plea bargain
like New York did, or really throw the book at him? And what about the fact that Lil’ Wayne is at the height of his fame, sitting in a prison cell? It’s pretty hard to tour and make music and work your creative genius when you’re incarcerated. Does that set a positive example for the countless,
talented, young rappers out there who aspire to be just as successful as Lil’ Wayne? I guess
we’ll just have to wait and see, okaaaaaaay?